memeorandum: Bad info from Spirit Air led me to flush pet hamster down airport toilet, student says (David Ovalle/miamiherald)

7:20 PM ET, February 8, 2018

Top Items:

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“He Was F—ing Pissed”: With Rob Porter Gone, the Heat on John Kelly Is Increasing — Trump is not happy with the chaos; Jared and Ivanka are trying to right the ship; and even Hope Hicks, one of the president's closest confidants, is in trouble. — A day after White House Staff Secretary …

Discussion: Esquire, Washington Post, Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Vox, Mediaite, The Week and Politicus USA

MJ Lee / CNN:

Email to FBI: Porter's friend ‘actively working to quell’ background check issues — White House aide's ex-wife details alleged abuse — Washington (CNN)The current husband of one of Rob Porter's ex-wives emailed the FBI last January expressing concern that a close friend …

Discussion: The Rush Limbaugh Show, Women in the World and Media Matters for America

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

The ‘family values’ crowd is mute on Rob Porter … Appearing on CNN's “New Day,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) was blunt about the Rob Porter issue. “I have no use for anybody who beats their spouse,” he said. “I tell you, the guy should have been shipped out the door months ago, as soon as they found out about it.”

Discussion: The Daily Beast, CNN, The Nation and No More Mister Nice Blog

Tom Kludt / CNNMoney:

Rob Porter scandal: Everywhere but Fox News — Rob Porter resigns after abuse allegations — The Trump administration is reeling over domestic violence allegations against a top White House aide, Rob Porter. But you might not know it if you watch Fox News, where the disturbing story has been largely, and conspicuously, absent.

Discussion: Mediaite and The Moderate Voice

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
Hope Hicks, elusive Trump aide, in the spotlight amid Rob Porter scandal

Discussion: Business Insider

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
John Kelly's credibility is at risk after defending aide accused of domestic violence

Discussion: New York Times, Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, Breitbart, The Week, VICE News, NBC News, Media Matters for America, Common Dreams, AOL, Business Insider and Roll Call

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
White House faces huge questions on Rob Porter exit

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, ABC News, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, The Root, New York Times, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog and Shareblue Media

Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Kelly Was Alerted on Porter's Past, Sources Say

Discussion: Reuters and The Mahablog

CBS News:

House Intel Republicans plan to wall off their aides from Democratic staffers — In a sign of increasing partisan hostilities, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee plan to construct a wall - a physical partition - separating Republican and Democratic staff members in the committee's secure spaces …

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, RedState, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Axios and The Week

CNN:

Clash with witness shows Nunes' drive to discredit dossier — Nunes' hometown split on FBI memo controversy — Washington (CNN)Last month, an attorney expressed his outrage with leaders of the House Intelligence Committee: He demanded to know why a committee official shared …

David Ovalle / miamiherald:

Bad info from Spirit Air led me to flush pet hamster down airport toilet, student says — Before Belen Aldecosea flew home from from college to South Florida, she twice called Spirit Airlines to ensure she could bring along a special guest: Pebbles, her pet dwarf hamster. No problem, the airline told her.

Discussion: USA Today, NBC News, The Guardian, KXAN-TV, KRON4.com, AOL, The Daily Caller, Weekly Standard, fox8.com, KTLA, Mashable, Gizmodo, The Stranger …, Mediaite, twitchy.com and VICE

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:

Democrats expand battleground, target 101 GOP seats — WASHINGTON — House Democrats are stepping on the gas, with plans to target over 100 Republican-held congressional districts in the November midterm elections. — At House Democrats' annual conference Thursday, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos, CNBC and Axios

David Wasserman / The Cook Political Report:

Ratings Changes in 21 Districts — The first two months of 2018 have given both parties reasons for optimism. Republicans have cut Democrats' lead in the FiveThirtyEight average of generic congressional ballot polls in half, from roughly 12 points in December to about six points today.

Discussion: Shareblue Media and New York Magazine

Heather Caygle / Politico:

White House tells agencies to prepare for shutdown — The White House urged federal agencies on Thursday evening to prepare for a government shutdown at midnight, as a budget deal stalled amid resistance from a cantankerous GOP senator and unhappy Democrats.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Atlantic, New York Times, The Hill, The Week, USA Today, Splinter, CNBC and thecut

YouTube:

Omarosa Opens Up About Her Time Inside The White House On Tonight's Celebrity Big Brother — Omarosa opens up to Ross Mathews about her time inside the White House, on BIG BROTHER: CELEBRITY EDITION airing tonight, Thursday, Feb. 8 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/...

Discussion: The Guardian, Business Insider, NBC News, Washington Post, AOL, twitchy.com and Hullabaloo

Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:

'It's Bad': Omarosa Cries Through Description of Trump White House on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ … Omarosa Manigault may have gotten off to a confident start on the latest edition of CBS' Celebrity Big Brother. But on Thursday night's episode, she breaks down.

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart, Mother Jones, Jezebel and theGrio

John Solomon / The Hill:

Uranium One informant makes Clinton allegations in testimony — An FBI informant connected to the Uranium One controversy told three congressional committees in written testimony that Moscow routed millions of dollars to America with the expectation it would be used to benefit Bill Clinton

Discussion: Fox News, Sarah Palin, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Breitbart, Fox News Insider, bizpacreview.com, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and Front Page Magazine

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
Justice Dept. official who helped oversee Clinton, Russia probes steps down

Discussion: RedState, bizpacreview.com, The Last Refuge and Sarah Palin

Sara Carter / Sara A. Carter:
FBI informant on Uranium One Breaks Silence

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and The Gateway Pundit

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
DOJ Official Who Worked On Clinton, Russia Investigations Steps Down For Personal Reasons

Discussion: Viking Pundit and bizpacreview.com

Matt Egan / CNNMoney:

Dow plunges 1,033 points and sinks into correction — Inflation fears driving market jitters — For the second time this week, the Dow plunged more than 1,000 points. — And it's now in a correction — 10% off its record high just two weeks ago. — Fears about the bond market …

Discussion: Vox, New York Daily News, Q13 FOX News and CBS San Francisco

Thomas Heath / Washington Post:
Dow plunges more than 1,000 points on specter of higher interest rates

Discussion: Bloomberg and New York Magazine

Alec Luhn / Telegraph:

Oligarch met with top Russian official after Trump aide ‘offered briefings’ — A Russian deputy prime minister secretly met with oligarch Oleg Deripaska to discuss US relations after Paul Manafort reportedly offered Mr Deripaska briefings on the Trump campaign, according to videos discovered by a Russian opposition activist.

Alexey Navalny / Meduza.io: An escort girl may be the latest ‘Russia Gate’ link

Maggie Severns / Politico:

Former Cato employees describe years of harassment — Three former employees of the famed Cato Institute say they were sexually harassed by Ed Crane, the 73-year-old co-founder and president emeritus of the think tank and one of the most recognizable figures in the libertarian movement.

Discussion: New York Magazine

Washington Post:

Republicans are completely reversing themselves on the deficit … Republican lawmakers in 2011 brought the U.S. government to the brink of default, refused to raise the debt ceiling, demanded huge spending cuts, and insisted on a constitutional amendment to balance the budget.

Discussion: Mother Jones and Outside the Beltway

Rush Limbaugh / The Rush Limbaugh Show: I'm Immune to This Budget Business

Jon Gambrell / Associated Press:

George W. Bush says Russia meddled in 2016 US election — ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Former President George W. Bush said on Thursday that “there's pretty clear evidence that the Russians meddled” in the 2016 American presidential election, forcefully rebutting fellow Republican …

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit and Shakesville

Taffy Brodesser-Akner / New York Times:

Jimmy Buffett Does Not Live the Jimmy Buffett Lifestyle — Jimmy Buffett awoke one morning last year in one of his many homes — he can't remember which one, there are a lot of them — and a panic gripped him in his throat. His new Broadway musical, “Escape to Margaritaville,” was coming along nicely, but something was off.

Discussion: Hit & Run and Longreads

Stan Collender / Forbes:

This Budget Deal May Be The End Of The House Freedom Caucus — The House Freedom Caucus, the ultra-conservative group of 30-40 Republicans that pushed former Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to resign and has often been the bane of current Speaker Paul Ryan's existence because of its take-no-prisoners attitude …

Discussion: National Review

Lindsey McPherson / Roll Call:
Pelosi to Vote ‘No’ on Budget, But Won't Whip Caucus

Discussion: Vox, New York Magazine, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and NRCC

CNN:

‘Pillar of the community’ deported from US after 39 years to a land he barely knows — Palestinian deported after 39 years in the US — Amman, Jordan (CNN)With nothing but the clothes on his back and less than $300 in his pocket, Amer Adi was put on a plane and deported to Jordan …

Yeganeh Torbati / Reuters:

Exclusive: Trump administration may target immigrants who use food aid, other benefits — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration is considering making it harder for foreigners living in the United States to get permanent residency if they have received certain public benefits …

Discussion: Vox, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine and Splinter

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Republicans Stopped Sabotaging the Economy Because They Have the White House Now — During the Obama era, Democrats frequently believed, but only rarely uttered aloud in official forums, that the Republican Party was engaged in economic sabotage. Not a coldly conscious plot, exactly.

John Ziegler / Mediaite:

The Real Reason that Most Trump Fans Can't Stand ‘Never Trump’ Conservatives — One of the most interesting political divides of the Trump era is that between long-time Republicans who strongly support Donald Trump, and those who have been in the group of so-called “Never Trump” conservatives.

Albuquerque Journal:

Journal editorial cartoon sparks controversy — SANTA FE - An editorial cartoon published in the Journal came under fire Wednesday from elected officials - including both of New Mexico's U.S. senators - and others for being “misguided” and “bigoted.” — The syndicated cartoon showed …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Raw Story and Splinter

Donie O'Sullivan / CNNMoney:

Twitter failed to remove hundreds of Russian propaganda videos aimed at Americans — Senate committee grills tech giants over online terrorism — Twitter left hundreds of Russian propaganda videos, with millions of views, on its video platform Vine for months after it should have known …

Discussion: BloombergQuint

Media Matters for America:

Fox News executive VP rails against diversity of US Olympians: “Darker, Gayer, Different” — BLOG ››› February 8, 2018 ››› MEDIA MATTERS STAFF — Fox News' John Moody, who serves as the network's executive vice president and an executive editor …

Discussion: Fox News, Hullabaloo and AOL

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

FBI surveillance of Carter Page might have picked up Bannon — The FBI was monitoring Carter Page when the former Trump campaign adviser says he spoke with Trump adviser Steve Bannon about Russia in January 2017, raising the strong possibility that the FBI intercepted a conversation between the two men.

Discussion: The Federalist

Eric Katz / GovExec.com:

Allegations of Rampant Sexual Harassment and Rape Roil Federally Run College — In August 2016, ReGina Zuni found herself working in a windowless room on the campus of Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute. The ceiling was cracked and falling. Loose wires hung along the walls.

Discussion: Raw Story

Kurt Schlichter / Townhall.com:

With Enemies Like This, Donald Trump Doesn't Need Friends — So, the Washington Post says that Donald Trump wants to honor the military with a parade, which the Trump-haters inform us is the worst thing that ever was because it's Donald Trump who wants to honor the military with a parade.